1.5/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of Curious Expedition.

TLDR: This is one of those reviews that make me feel like I'm stupid. Gameplay: I won't lie. I don't like this game that much. I never did. Even though this was a big staple for teenage me. But the gameplay isn't very interesting or varied and the difficulty is a pendelum constantly swinging from a cakewalk to genuinely impossible. For starters, the game feels unbalanced. 6 expeditions per run? 6? How about...three? It's too much game to stay interested in. The first couple of expeditions are probably going to be very difficult and may decide wether you continue on or not, and once you catch your stride basically nothing can stop you and you can steam roll everything. Curious Expedition is one of those games where it bores you if you succeed. And if the game bores you, you can get careless. And make one mistake that snowballs into losing the entire run near the very end. And even if that doesn't happen, luck may just dictate you losing anyway. I have many personal anecdotes of luck being the one and only factor in dictating my loss. Unlucky geography? Insane. Death. Unlucky rolls? Lose combat. Death. Unlucky shrine? Ever expanding black hole. Swallows up your only path to the pyramid. Death. And when you fail one thing there is immediate cascading consequences that just make you want to give up. And for a game being about "exploration" they make it incredibly difficult and then end up having there being very little to find. I have never, ever finished a run and went "oh man i want to see what else i can find". Not once. I genuinely don't understand why people like this so much. Story: There isn't necessarily a story but there is a lot of text that details things you do and you do a lot of the same things. So you very quickly will skip all of the text. But if you stop and read it, the descriptions in the journal are very interesting and evocative. I really wish Curious Expedition was not so rank in gameplay so that I could have appreciated the vibe. It should have been a different game. Graphics: The visuals have a real charm to it. The spritework for humans are devoid of detail but they're fun to look out. What's really beautiful is the landscapes and scenery however whenever you are in an event. That's the type of art that lets the game really shine. Sound: I like the music. The main theme is instantly recognizable. Extra: Apparently if you want to 100% the game you need to do at least 500 expeditions. And you don't really unlock anything, just completion marks for the explorers. Unlocking explorers is fun because they are based on real people but otherwise there is not much to go out and seek here. Favorite Thing: H.P. Lovecraft being an explorer in this game is hilarious. He wouldn't even make it to his front steps. Not My Favorite Thing: Later expeditions force you to interact with them to collect required items, essentially making you tempt fate each time with a run-ending lock.